The Hunterian

Exploring infection and pollution, from middens to microbiology, historical forensics, the impact of the filthy industrial city on people, and even Scotland’s encounters with tropical diseases, the 'Dirty Weekend' programme is inspired by our astonishing science and medical collections, as well as the world class research being undertaken at the University of Glasgow. Events include a dirty tea party, drop-in hands-on activities, science busking, lunchtime talks, city tours and filth-ridden infected films. 

Dirty Pictures
2 - 6 September 2011
9.30am - 5.00pm
Hunterian Art Gallery
A small display of 20th century Scottish artwork from The Hunterian collection which highlights Glasgow’s dirty past. Admission free.

Dirty Lunchtime Talk
2 September 2011
1.00pm
Hunterian Art Gallery
'Dirt and Disease - Horror Stories from the Hunterian Pathology Collection' by Dr Stuart McDonald, Laboratory for Human Anatomy, University of Glasgow. Admission free.

Dirty Tea Party
2 September 2011
2.30pm - 4.30pm
Fraser Building, University of Glasgow
Science busking, free food and drinks, stalls, old Scottish public health films and table top demos linking science to food: insects as food; what constitutes clean or dirty food; growing your own - ‘dirty’ carrots, wrong size cabbages; perfect food for supermarkets vs. reality; pricing and waste; GM food, antioxidants and super foods. Admission free.

Parasitology Poster Display
2 September 2011
2.30pm - 4.30pm
Fraser Building, University of Glasgow
This display will celebrate the discoveries in parasitology established by pioneering Scottish explorers including David Livingstone and Patrick Manson, who is often described as the ‘Father of Tropical Medicine’. Admission free.

Dirty Drop-in Activities
3 September 2011
11.00am - 4.00pm
Hunterian Art Gallery
Hands-on activities for all the family using active research and related collections to cover areas including; waste management, sewage sludge and ancient toilets; forensic archaeology - how we learn from the past; signs of disease and infectious diseases related to industrialisation; bacteria down the microscope, hygiene and hand washing. Admission free.

Dirty Lunchtime Talk
3 September 2011
1.00pm
Hunterian Art Gallery
‘The Symbolic Dimensions of Dirt' by Dr Lucy Pickering, School of Social and Political Sciences University of Glasgow. Admission free.

Medical City Tours
3 and 4 September 2011
10.30am - 12.30pm and 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Merchant City, Glasgow City Centre
Bookable medical city tours led by Dr Ronnie Scott - a cultural historian with a particular interest in the history of Glasgow:

Days of Wynds and Closes: Housing and health in old Glasgow
10.30am – 12.30pm
The population of Glasgow expanded uncontrollably during the 19th century, as people flooded into the town to work in new industries. In the wynds and closes around Glasgow Cross, they lived in unhygienic, overcrowded slums. The city’s responses included large-scale demolition and redevelopment of slum areas, fresh water from Loch Katrine and other public health improvements. This walk visits the sites of the worst slums, the City Improvement Trust tenements, and the new streets that were built on the wynds and closes of old Glasgow.

The Sack-’em-up Men and the Surgeons: Anatomy, public health and burying grounds
2.00pm - 4.00pm
Until the Anatomy Act of 1832 ensured a steady supply of legal specimens to the surgeons and medical students of Glasgow, there was a ghoulish trade in freshly-buried corpses. Body snatchers regularly removed cadavers from the burying grounds of the city, and a horrified population developed a range of security measures to stop them. This walk visits the sites of the medical schools and the burying grounds, where the rusting remains of the cages and other devices that were used to protect the dead can still be seen.

Tours are free, last for 2 hours and must be booked in advance. To book call 0141 330 5370.

The Painted Veil
3 September 2011
3.00pm
Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB
Screening of ‘The Painted Veil’ by William Somerset Maugham followed by discussion led by the University of Glasgow’s Dr Mike Barrett, Professor of Biochemical Parasitology. To book call the GFT Box Office 0141 332 6535.

Café Scientific: The End of Antibiotics?
5 September 2011
7.00pm
Victoria Bar, Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, Glasgow, G1 5HB
Cafe Scientifique was established to explore the latest ideas in science and technology outside a traditional academic context. This event with Dr Aleks Marek, speciality registrar in microbiology at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, will debate the issue of hospital acquired infections. Admission free.

Dirty Lunchtime Talk
6 September 2011
1.00pm
Hunterian Art Gallery
‘The Lowdown on Dirt: Manky masonry and much much more…!’ by Dr John Faithful, Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow. Admission free.

These events are part of the Wellcome Trust Dirt Season.

 

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First published: 2 August 2011